


This I Promise You

by RoseWilliams15



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Minor Character Death, Slow Burn, Star Wars AU, TW: Panic Attacks, genre typical violence, lots of fluff, lots of hurt/comfort, tw: PTSD
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:47:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23783392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseWilliams15/pseuds/RoseWilliams15
Summary: Supercorp Star Wars AULife on the outskirts of the galaxy was simple, but meaningless. Kara helped her family in any way she could, but her only real escape was getting to pilot the occasional off planet supply mission. Motivated by a mysterious thrum in the back of her mind, Kara did just that. Supplies were what she set out to find, but instead she found the most mysterious woman in the galaxy and a mission that would change her life forever.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, Samantha "Sam" Arias/Alex Danvers
Comments: 23
Kudos: 158





	1. Chapter 1

Kara groaned and pulled her pillow over her head. This was the third night in a row that she’d been kept awake by an incessant thrum in the back of her mind. It was annoying to say the least, and far more familiar than she cared to admit. She’d had the thrum off and on throughout her childhood and into her adult years, but it always passed eventually. There was something different this time though, it felt louder and more pressing than usual and it only seemed to get worse as time went on.

As quietly as she could, she slipped out of bed and into the closest pair of pants she could find before creeping out of her quarters and into the next room. There she clipped on her ammo belt and woke her droid. After a few rushed commands to make sure that they stayed quiet, she grabbed her shoes and moved outside. She didn’t see or hear anything right away, but that didn’t keep her from ducking behind a pile of rusted speeder parts and peeking out to survey the landscape in front of her anyway.

Aside from her family’s hut and the old trade federation landing ship they kept around for material runs, there wasn’t much to note in the sandy wasteland in front of her. It wasn’t that she expected much out after midnight, but she couldn’t be too careful. She’d never hear the end of it if she got caught.

After a final sweep of the area, she nodded to her droid and tiptoed toward the ship. She’d only made it a few feet before she heard the thump of something heavy hitting the sand behind her. She turned to find her cobbled together droid face down with their wheels spinning uselessly in the air above them. With a sigh, Kara backtracked and pulled the droid back to a standing position. She kneeled down and wiped some of the dust out of their sights.

“Come on Krypto, we’ve talked about this. We can’t have you falling all the time, especially on stealth missions.” 

Her response came in the form of a variety of reserved and apologetic beeps.

“It’s alright buddy, we’ll work on balance a little more when we get home.”

Krypto flashed their blue and red lights and let out a significantly happier beep.

“That’s the spirit!” Kara stood up and gave Krypto a gentle push to help the droid get moving again.

Kara helped Krypto up the steep incline of the loading ramp before casting another quick glance over her shoulder to make sure they weren’t being followed. Once she knew the coast was clear, she felt her heart rate spike as she slid into the cockpit and pulled the bulky helmet onto her head.

There was only so much to do to keep oneself occupied on Tatooine, and less that Kara herself was actually any good at. She was alright when it came to tinkering on Krypto, but she couldn’t fix ships like Winn, or gamble nearly as well as her sister Alex. What she really lived for were the days when she was asked to make supply runs. Flying was the only thing that made her feel useful. It was her only real contribution to her small community and she took her role very seriously. She had found herself behind the controls for the first time when she was just ten years old, and even back then, flying came as naturally as breathing. Her sister joked that she had some secret superpower that gave her an edge over everyone else. Kara always brushed it off as just having good instincts, but deep down she knew that Alex was right.

Kara finished her pre-flight checks and looked down at her family’s hut with a half-formed apology on the tip of her tongue. She swallowed the words and adjusted her helmet. It wasn’t really an apology if she didn’t mean it and besides, she wasn’t planning on being gone all that long anyway. It was just going to be a quick trip to an abandoned supply base nearby to try and find some equipment that she could sell for more food and fuel back home. Normally a trip like this would take place over several days and with a larger crew to help load the landing ship, but she’d been told in no uncertain terms to stay away from this particular base. She had to go alone or not at all, and staying home was not an option.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

_“I’ve led dozens of supply runs, what makes this one any different?”_

_Eliza didn’t look up from the vegetables she was cutting. “We’re not having this discussion Kara. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve gone over the dangers of that place with you.”_

_"I’ve heard chatter that the base has been abandoned for months, no one will even know anything went missing, it’ll be easy.” Kara put her elbow on the counter in front of her and leaned forward toward Eliza._

_“Nothing involving the Luthors is ever easy Kara, you know that. They are the most dangerous family in the galaxy and they would annihilate someone like you without batting an eye.”_

_“We’re running out of supplies and have nothing to sell to the trade ship next time it comes around. We need this.”_

_Eliza set down her knife and closed her eyes with a heavy sigh. “I know how things look, but we’ve gotten through times like this before. I’m sure we can make some kind of deal with them.”_

_Kara stood up and began pacing back and forth in the narrow kitchen. “You’ve been saying that for weeks now. What are we supposed to do when we run out of food? How are we going to tell that to the families with little kids?”_

_“That’s enough Kara.” Eliza looked up for the first time since they had started talking and Kara could tell she was exhausted._

_“But…”_

_“But nothing. Do I need to remind you that the last time you went out on a mission you came back missing a hand and half of your crew?”_

_Kara stopped dead in her tracks._

_Eliza began massaging her forehead with one hand. “I’m sorry sweetie,” She said, her voice much softer this time. “I shouldn’t have lashed out like that, I just...”_

_Eliza looked over at Kara who was standing stock still a few feet away. “I don’t even want to think about you getting hurt like that again.”_

_Kara turned around and met Eliza’s gaze, slowly clenching and unclenching her mechanical left hand._

_"Please let it go. We’ll find another way.” Eliza moved over to Kara and put a hand on her shoulder._

_Kara nodded and allowed herself to be pulled into a motherly hug. She dropped the subject for the time being but couldn’t stop the miniscule thrum in the back of her head that told her she needed to get to that base._

_Soon after she’d had her talk with Eliza, they’d gotten word that their food supplies were starting to run dangerously low. Tensions were high among all of the townsfolk and she’d had to break up a handful of fights between people who were starting to grow hungry and frustrated. All the while the buzz in the back of her head slowly grew louder._

_0o0o0o0o0o0o0o_

“How are we looking Krypto?”

The droid flashed their green light and let out a few chirps.

“See? I told you this would be a short trip.” Kara said as she pulled back a lever and eased the ship out of hyperdrive. The streaks of light that had been shooting past the ship slowed and returned to normal looking stars. Not that there were too many stars to see from this vantage point. Kara’s field of vision was obscured by a massive rectangular supply station. It loomed over her comparably miniscule vessel and for the first time since she set out, Kara’s confidence wavered.

The thrum in the back of her head was telling her to stay, but every other part of her body was telling her to run. She brought her hand back to the hyperspace lever, but hesitated. Running would mean ignoring the instinct that had brought her here, and the only other time she’d done that, it had ended in the loss of a good friend and had nearly cost her her own life.

Her hesitation only lasted a second, but it was enough. As Kara grabbed the lever two bright beams of red light shot out from the station and stuck the side of her ship. The whole ship shook underneath her, red lights began to flash throughout the cabin and alarms blared.

“What’d they get buddy, can we make the jump to hyperdrive?” Kara asked as she unclipped her safety restraint and stood to survey a panel of colorful buttons on the wall behind her.

Krypto replied in a series of rapid and panicked beeps.

Kara flipped a few switches and ground her teeth. “I know, I know! We shouldn’t have come. You can be mad about it later, just help me get us…”

Kara’s sentence was cut off as the ship beneath her was wrenched sharply toward the towering station. The sudden forward motion sent her flying back into the wall of the cockpit. She crashed into the wall face first. Her helmet took the brunt of the impact, but all the air was forced from her lungs and her vision started to tunnel.

It took a few seconds for her brain to link back up the rest of her body. When it did, she pulled her helmet off and rolled onto her stomach as quickly as her still stunned form would allow. With clenched teeth, she hauled herself back up into a standing position. She quickly surveyed the cabin and was glad to see that the magnets she had installed under Krypto had kept the droid safely in place. Less exciting though was when she turned to see the station growing closer at a rapid pace.

Kara put a hand on the top of Krypto’s head and sighed. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

In the grip of a tractor beam this strong with a ship with god knows how much damage, there was nothing she could do to try and escape. Kara stood and watched as two large bay doors slid open on the station in front of her and pulled her ship into a brightly lit loading dock. The walls of the loading dock were lined with piles of crates of all shapes and sizes that were labeled in more languages than Kara could count, and in the center of all of that was the landing area. This portion of the dock was surrounded by a dozen armed droids, all with blasters pointed in her direction.

This was the absolute worst-case scenario and Kara knew it, and though her mind was racing and her heart was thumping rapidly in her chest, she still managed to feel some semblance of calm. She was meant to be here. The thrum in the back of her mind told her so, and even though she still wasn’t sure why, she knew it to be true.

The ship came to a stop and Kara drew her blaster. “I’ll be right back buddy, see if you can’t get this old girl back up and running.” With a small nod to her companion, Kara took off toward the loading ramp.

She could hear muffled bits of droid banter through the metal walls as she approached. There was something about surrender and trespassing on Luthor property, but she couldn’t give a porg’s ass about any of that right now. She got into position and hit the button that released the ramp. The moment that it began its descent, Kara fought through the pain of her now throbbing head and climbed up to the top of the ramp. The moment that she was able to fit the muzzle of her blaster through the slowly growing gap, she began firing blindly. Her efforts were rewarded by several loud clangs that could just be heard over the now two-way blaster fire. It might not have been much, but Kara knew that she had earned herself slightly more favorable odds as her number of assailants began to dwindle.

Before the ramp could open too far, she rolled off it and grabbed onto the cargo net that lined the inside of the ship. With practiced ease, she climbed up the net and into what Winn liked to call “The Nest”, which was a small shelf that jutted out of the wall about twelve feet off the floor of the cargo hold. Most of the time Winn used it to take naps when he was supposed to be working on the ship, but right now it gave her a sniper’s vantage point as well as the high ground.

More and more bolts began to make it into the cabin as the ramp approached the ground. She managed to take out another handful of battle droids before they could climb onto the ship, but it didn’t take them long to figure out where her shots were coming from and soon all of their fire was directed up at her. The metal ledge beneath her began to heat up from the concentrated blaster fire and started to bend under her weight. Before Kara had the chance to stand, the ledge dipped sharply downward and she found herself flying quickly toward the ground. On instinct, she tucked herself into a ball and somersaulted out of the fall and onto her back. Kara’s eyes flickered around the cargo hold, trying to regain her bearings. Her lungs were burning from exertion and she could feel the sweat beginning to soak through the back of her shirt. She’d really stepped in it now, but she barely had time to acknowledge it before as she had to roll out of the way of a bolt that had been aimed directly at her head.

Kara fired off a few shots before climbing back to her feet and taking cover behind a nearby crate. The opposing shots kept coming, but she had to stop and collect herself before she could bring herself to retaliate. The thrum in the back of her mind was now bordering on unbearable. It had spread from its normal home at the base of her skull up into her temples. She needed to get off the ship, that much was clear even if the phantom buzz in her head wasn’t telling her to do so. After a deep breath and clearing her head as best she could Kara prepared herself for her next wave of attacks. From what she last saw, there were only three droids left but they were closing in quickly. It was now or never. She brought her blaster up to her chest and pressed her back to the crate.

1...2...3… She shifted to the left side of the crate and fired three quick shots before changing direction and running over to the right side and firing from there. One droid fell, and she landed several shots on the other two before they caught onto her change in position and turned on her. She tried to duck out of the way of the oncoming barrage but wasn’t quite fast enough. A bolt struck her solidly in the leg and she couldn’t help the shriek of pain that burst from her mouth.

Her head swam and her hands began to shake, but Kara lifted her blaster and kept firing. The second droid fell but the final one kept coming. The blaster grew heavier in Kara’s hands and her shots began to grow less accurate by the second. She spared a glance down to her leg and was surprised to see that there was blood seeping from what she had expected to be a burn wound.

Her attention was brought back to her current predicament when she heard the last droid impact the ground. She looked up to see Krypto standing next to the felled droid holding up one end of a rope, the other having been hooked to the wall on the other side of the room. The battle droid shifted but after a few quick shots from Kara, went still. Kara leaned heavily against the crate beside her and smiled weakly up at Krypto. “Thanks for the assist buddy.”

Krypto rolled over to her and began beeping frantically.

“I’ve had worse. Look, I even got to keep all four limbs this time.” Kara held up both hands, both real and mechanical before wiggling her left leg and flinching at the movement of her right one.

Krypto was unimpressed and didn’t hesitate in telling her so.

Kara chuckled and ripped a piece of fabric off of the bottom of her shirt before carefully wrapping it around her wound. It wasn’t quite a tourniquet, but it would slow the blood loss some.

“Now, how about we see what all of this fuss was about?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Stefon from SNL would say, from chapter has a little bit of everything: the introduction of certain emerald eyed beauty, a little hurt comfort, and even some light flirting. Enjoy!

Kara had helped keep her family and their small village alive by scavenging for over a decade now. Much of what she found was small mechanical bits and bobs that she could carry in a small bag, or in the arms of a couple of her friends if they were lucky enough to find a bigger target. Today though, she couldn’t help but stand slack-jawed at the loading dock full of goodies just waiting to be taken. Her head buzzed as she surveyed the room and she couldn’t tell if it was from the thrum that brought her here in the first place or the excitement of the prospect of finishing what she’d set out to do. It could have also been from her loss of blood, but she chose to ignore the implications of that. Even with a few hiccups, this was the most successful she’d ever been on a solo mission. 

Krypto bumped up against her uninjured leg and flashed their yellow light along with a few questioning beeps. 

Kara looked down and gave the droid a soft smile. “You worry too much. I’ll only grab enough to sell for a few weeks worth of food now and then we’ll come back with a full crew whenever we can spare one.” 

If Krypto was capable of rolling their eyes, the droid would have done so right then. Kara knew as much and gave her companion a tap on the head. 

“Last one to the loot pile has to tell Eliza where we’ve been!” She started limping toward the nearest crate with Krypto following reluctantly behind her. 

Kara spent the next few minutes sorting through all of the loot she could get her hands on. Scavenging was a simple enough task and she’d done enough of it to have a pretty good idea of what kinds of items she was looking for. She separated out the items that would be worth the most credits and left the rest for later. The further she got into the pile, the more she felt as though she was looking for something specific. As for what that was, she had no clue. 

Minutes passed and she felt herself starting to grow weaker and more unfocused. The buzz in the back of her mind continued to grow until it was strong enough that Kara could no longer hear herself think and she was forced to stop looking all together. She sat down hard on the closest flat surface, which appeared to be a box full of blasters, and clutched her head in her hands. Krypto rolled up next to her and let out a series of beeps but she couldn’t focus long enough to comprehend what they said. 

Kara closed her eyes to try and ground herself, but the thrum only intensified. She was close to whatever she was looking for. She could count on one hand how many times she’d felt the buzz this strong and that both terrified and excited her. Kara’s eyes flicked open, and her brain fell silent for the first time in weeks. She let out a relieved sigh and allowed her eyes to refocus on the room before her. 

In her haze, she had overlooked a giant slab of metal that was sticking out from under the crate that she had been rummaging through. Kara looked it over once, twice, and then a third time. There was no way she was seeing what she thought she was seeing. She shook her head, and then hoisted herself back onto her feet so she could get a better look. 

It took a moment to move the crate out of the way, but what she found underneath confirmed all of her suspicions. “Are you seeing this Krypto?” 

The droid rolled over and beeped in confirmation. 

Kara nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t hear you the first time.” 

Krypto flashed a familiar sequence of lights, telling her that they didn’t mind. 

Kara turned back to the slab and drew her eyebrows together. Before her was a carbonite containment unit. She didn’t know much about them other than the stories she’d heard while she was growing up. Few people had access to the technology required to encase people in these units, but those that did used them to punish bounty hunters, smugglers or other such people who got in over their heads. Alex had told her once that it was cheaper than prison and cleaner than an execution. Kara had thankfully never witnessed it because it was outlawed when she was very young.

This was clearly what she had been brought here to find, but why? She didn’t recognize the poor soul who had been trapped, but it was hard to really see any discernible features through the thick metal. The only thing she could really say for sure was that whoever it was had been screaming in pain when this happened to them. 

“This has to have been here for years, do you think we could still reverse the process if we wanted to?” Kara kneeled down to look at the panel of buttons on the side of the unit. 

Krypto lit up immediately, flashing red and beeping loudly. 

“Woah, take it easy bud.”

Krypto continued beeping, though a little more quietly now. 

“You’re right, it could be a super bad guy, but it could also be an innocent. I’ve heard stories about the Luthors and according to Alex, they’d kill anyone who even looked at them the wrong way.” 

Krypto didn’t respond, and Kara took that to mean that they knew she was right. 

Upon further inspection, the containment unit was in amazing shape. For something that she assumed had been lying here for a decade, it showed little to no wear. Kara ran her fingers over the buttons out of curiosity and felt a tingling sensation run up her neck as her hand passed over the top-most button. She hovered her hand there for a moment before she made up her mind and pressed the button. 

Nothing happened immediately and Kara gave Krypto a half guilty, half cheesy smile. A moment passed before a faint sizzling sound drew her attention back to the slab. The pained face trapped within it glowed a vibrant red into a molten orange before beginning to pock and crack to reveal the person beneath. Kara scrambled backward onto her ass and drew her blaster. 

Slowly, the carbonite melted away and Kara watched as a woman who had to have been just a few years younger than her was revealed. She had raven black hair, remarkably pale skin, and was dressed in clothes almost as ratty as Kara’s. Her cheeks looked sunken and her body was frail. Kara was familiar with this look, and wasn’t entirely convinced that she wasn’t sporting it herself right now. Whoever this woman was, she hadn’t been eating much before she was placed in this containment unit. Kara couldn’t help but feel an immediate kinship with her. 

The woman’s eyes fluttered and her already pained face tightened before she let out a low groan. Kara stayed put, debating whether she should get up and help her or keep her guard up in case she was attacked. She watched the woman slowly start to feel around her surroundings before rolling onto her side and vomiting over the side of what remained of the container. 

That was all Kara needed to see. She hauled herself back up to her feet, taking an extra second to stabilize herself when a fresh wave of dizziness washed over her. It was becoming apparent that she’d have to do something about her leg sooner than she had hoped. 

The closer she got to the woman, the easier it was to see just how poor a state she was in. The woman was shivering and Kara could see a thin sheet of sweat across her face. Her eyes were flying back and forth sightlessly. 

“Hey.” Kara said softly. 

The woman jumped and curled in on herself.

Kara slowed her pace and held her hands up in front of her, though she was now almost positive that the woman couldn’t see her. 

“I’m not going to hurt you, I promise. Here,” Kara stepped up and knelt down a few feet away from the woman before taking off her coat. “You look like you’re freezing. I’ve got a jacket you can borrow. I’m going to leave it right next to you and then I’m going to back up and give you some space, you’re welcome to it.” She did as she said she would and placed the jacket a few inches from the woman’s hands before taking a few steps backward, making sure to make as much noise with her boots as possible. 

With small measured movements, the woman reached out and touched the jacket. “Who are you?” Her voice was hoarse and quiet but held elements of a lilting accent. 

“Oh! Uh, right. I’m Kara.” 

The woman slowly pulled the jacket onto her lap. “I assume that we’re on a Luthor base?”

Kara nodded, momentarily forgetting that the woman couldn’t see her action. “Yep! But they aren’t here, and I don’t work for them or anything.” Kara held her hand up to her mouth and started to whisper comically loud. “I’m actually here to steal some goods to bring back to my family. And I’m so sorry, I didn’t ask for your name.” 

The woman raised an amused eyebrow. “Lena. Now, not to be rude Kara, but how exactly are you alive? I’ve had a few run-ins with the Luthors and well,” She motions down to the melted container beneath her. “They aren’t fond of intruders.” 

Kara glanced down at her now completely blood soaked pants and cleared her throat. “It took a little bit of doing.” 

“What did they get you with, blaster bolt or saber?” 

Kara’s eyebrows shot into her hairline. “Um, a droid shot me in the leg, how did you...?” 

“And how long ago did this happen?” 

“I’m not sure, fifteen minutes ago maybe?

“Shit.” Lena closed her eyes and threw the jacket off of her lap before trying to swing her legs off the side of the container. She couldn’t get her body to move the way she wanted to and she cursed under her breath again.

“Alright Kara, if you aren’t already, you are going to be in very bad shape any minute now. The monsters who own this place are known to have invested in special bolts that burn their victims, but not hot enough to cauterize the wound. You essentially have a gaping hole in your leg that needs to be tended to immediately.” 

Lena’s words hit Kara at the same time as another wave of dizziness. “Mmm that does not sound like a good time.” Kara’s response was slow and slightly slurred. 

“Kara?” 

This time, her question was answered with a loud thud. 

“Shit, shit, shit.” Lena pushed off of the container with as much energy as she could muster and soon felt her knees impact on the cold metal floor. 

She could tell that her vision was slowly beginning to return because she was starting to see flashes of color and movement every few seconds. This wasn’t entirely helpful though because she couldn’t see Kara and only had a vague idea of where she was standing when she fell. Lena was just beginning her crawling search when she felt something bump into her. A few frantic beeps sounded off right next to her ear. 

“I’m going to help her, I just have to find her first. Can you lead me to her?” 

Krypto gave her a few affirmative beeps before rolling away slowly and beeping intermittently as they went, giving Lena a path to follow. 

Crawling on unsteady arms and legs took longer than she would have liked, but it allowed for more of her vision to return. By the time she had caught up to Krypto, she was able to see the girl who had freed her from her prison. 

When Lena got to her, Kara’s skin had grown sickly pale and she was taking extremely shallow breaths. With all of the blood accumulation and the hole burned through Kara’s pants, it wasn’t difficult to find the wound. As expected, the wound was about fist size and blood was still flowing relatively freely from it. Lena put two fingers on Kara’s neck to check her pulse, and given how weak it was, Kara was fading fast. 

For the shortest of moments, Lena considered just leaving the girl here, but she was quickly struck with a wave of guilt. That was Luthor talk. She’d worked too damn hard and lost too damn much to think like that anymore. She looked back down at Kara and bit her lip. Her options were pretty limited. Simply wrapping the wound wouldn’t help, it was clear that Kara had already tried that. If she had gotten to her sooner, Kara’s chances would have been much better. Dread washed over Lena, she knew what needed to be done, but she wasn’t sure she could pull it off.

There was no time for second guessing now. Lena sat down and centered herself with a few calming breaths before reaching out and hovering her hand just above the wound on Kara’s leg. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Before long she felt the familiar burning sensation of the force shoot up her back and out of her hand. She clenched her teeth and allowed the anger that she fought so hard to keep at bay flared through her system. Her free hand pulled itself into a fist and she could feel her nails begin to dig into her palm. An internal war tore through her. Just like always, she felt the darkness try to overcome her but she skillfully pushed it down with the little excess energy that she could muster. 

She couldn’t tell how much time passed, but eventually, the burning and anger drained from her system. It was replaced by an exhaustion so deep, she could feel it in her bones. Even after the feeling had faded completely, Lena kept her eyes closed. She couldn’t take the chance that they were still burning amber. Kara would bolt for sure and then she’d once again be left all alone on this base. 

“Lena?”  
Lena opened her eyes to see Kara staring back at her for the first time. Kara’s eyes were stunning, and at this moment, they appeared to be tinged with concern, or was it fear? She backed away and pushed herself into a standing position. 

“Did you just heal me with your hands?”

Lena swallowed thickly and nodded before looking down at her own hands. This is why she had sworn never to tap into that power, it was too dangerous and it scared people. It was much more suited for people like her mother and brother. 

Kara sat up and looked through the hole in her pants and found that the wound had shrunk significantly, though it wasn’t fully closed . “Wow. That was amazing! Thank you.” 

“I… I wouldn’t call it amazing. It’s just something that runs in my family.” She cleared her throat and looked around at the stacks of goods behind her. “Do you have a ship? That’s not a permanent fix, we’ll need to get you some proper help quickly.”

“Yes. Well, sort of. We took a few hits on our way in here,and then there may have been a bit of a shoot out.” Kara brought a hand up to rub the back of her neck. “I’m not sure if it will be able to get us back to my home planet.” 

“Are we far from your planet?” 

“Not really, if we can get into hyperdrive we can make it back to Tatooine in under three hours.” 

Lena fell silent for a moment as she pondered their situation before turning slowly around to face Kara. “What year is it?” 

Confusion flashed across Kara’s face briefly before understanding dawned on her. “Oh shit. What year do you think it is?” 

“It was the beginning of 15 ABY when I got caught.” Lena looked up at her, looking almost as vulnerable as she had when Kara first saw her. “What year is it Kara?”

It took Kara a moment to come up with an answer. Living on a planet that no one bothered to visit made things like keeping track of the years trivial at best. All the while, Lena stood watching her with baited breath. 

When Kara finally spoke, her voice was soft. “The good news is that it’s still 15 ABY, the bad news is that we’re three quarters of the way through it now. You’ve missed some time.” 

Lena visibly relaxed and let out a deep breath. “Well that’s something.” 

Kara nodded. “I was sure that you had been here for years when I found the carbonite unit…” Kara trailed off and furrowed her eyebrows. “Hang on, the use of carbonite was outlawed nearly twenty years ago, how is it possible that it was used on you so recently?” 

Lena shook her head and let out a humorless laugh. “The Luthors have no regard for the law. Trust me when I say that continuing to use carbonite is low on their list of offenses.” 

“Right,” Kara cleared her throat nervously. “And I’m just going to go out on a limb here and say that they probably wouldn’t like it very much if they knew that I just freed one of their prisoners, or that I’m planning on robbing them?” 

Lena grinned, her face brightening for the first time since she woke up. “Not at all, but I’m certainly enjoying the hell out of it.” 

Kara’s eyes shot down to look at her boots as she felt her cheeks grow warm. “Well, uh, in that case, do you think you can help me load up some goods before we take a look at the ship?”

“It would be an honor.” 

The girls quickly gathered up the more expensive items that Kara had already sorted out and a few others that caught Lena’s eye before making their way back to Kara’s ship. 

“Tell me again how you managed to survive all of this.” Lena said as she took in the army of fallen droids and the blaster hole ridden cargo bay. 

“I’m a deadshot with a blaster and I’m super sneaky.” Kara said nonchalantly. 

Her facade cracked almost immediately when Lena raised an inquiring eyebrow. “I also got really lucky.” 

“Mmhm, let’s see if that luck translated over to the state of your ship.” 

Lena set down her arm load of cargo and began to give the ship a thorough once over, occasionally stopping to mumble comments to herself. Kara did her best to stay out of Lena’s way and managed to collect a few more items from the piles outside before Lena had finished her diagnostic. 

When she was done, Lena found Kara inside the cargo bay tying a fresh swath of cloth over her leg wound. Kara seemed to be doing alright for the moment, but she wasn’t out of the woods yet. 

Kara looked up when she heard Lena approaching. “What do you think, is she going to make it?”

Lena gave her an amused smirk. “You’re girl has definitely seen better days, but the fire you took earlier managed to miss all of the vital elements. If your luck continues, we should be able to limp her back to Tatooine.”  
Kara leaned over so that she could pat the floor of the cargo bay. “That’s my girl.” She looked back up at Lena. “Shall we?” 

Lena nodded and watched Kara get unsteadily to her feet. She rushed over and pulled one of Kara’s arms over her shoulder to help steady her. 

Kara closed her eyes and groaned. “Do you think you can fly this thing?” She asked through clenched teeth. 

Lena led Kara into the cockpit and set her down in the seat next to the captain’s chair. Krypto rolled up beside them and into their place between the seats. 

“I think me and your friend here can manage. All you have to do is hang in there for me alright? We’ll get you home.” 

Kara nodded and relaxed into the seat, her exhaustion finally starting to catch up for her. 

Kara’s eyes slid closed and she let out a long yawn. “You’re not going to hijack my ship are you?”

Lena paused her preflight checks and laughed. “I wouldn’t be able to get far enough to make it worth it.” 

One of Kara’s eyes popped open. “Is that the only reason you’re helping me then?”

“You saved me.” Kara raised a sleepy eyebrow and Lena couldn’t help but smile. “And I love inconveniencing the Luthors any chance I get.” 

“That’s more like it.” Kara said as she closed her eyes and settled back into her seat. 

Lena watched her for a second before turning back to her work. Kara was not just some random smuggler. That much was obvious by the fact that she had tried to take a Luthor stronghold on her own.The girl had nerves of steel, Lena couldn’t deny her that. 

Lena bit her lip as she tried to fight off the other thought that kept pushing itself into her consciousness. It had to have been a coincidence surely, but when she woke up, she was met with a soft hum in the back of her mind; one that she hadn’t felt since she was very young. There was no way that that had anything to do with meeting Kara, right? 

Lena’s grip tightened over the hyperdrive lever, she had bigger things to worry about right now and any Kara related thoughts didn’t really matter much in the grand scheme of things anyway. She was just going to see the girl off on her home planet and then never see her again. There was business to take care of and this little detour would only slow her down. 

***  
“Pardon me Mrs. Luthor.” 

The messenger flinched as icy blue eyes flicked up to meet his gaze. 

“Yes?” Her tone was as cold as her stare. 

“There’s been a break in.” 

“A break in?” Lillian Luthor pushed back from her desk and stood to her full height, which allowed her to tower over the young man in front of her. “Handle it, and take care not to waste my time with something as insignificant as…” 

The messenger swallowed and cut her off mid-sentence. “It was base 511220.” 

Lillian opened her mouth to barate the messenger for the interruption, but stopped as his words reached her ears. 

“And the prisoner?” 

“Status unknown.”

Lillian clenched her teeth and blew out a sharp exhale. “Gather the droids and ready my ship.” 

“Yes ma’am.” The messenger turned on his heel and hurried out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! If you're new, welcome! If you came back for round two, welcome back! As always, if you liked it, please leave me a comment and a kudos. Don't forget to subscribe if you feel like sticking around.  
> ~Until next time!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: PTSD/PANIC ATTACK  
> DISCLAIMER: This chapter is a little bit more intense than the previous ones and depicts both a minor panic attack and a minor character death. 
> 
> If you would like to avoid both of those elements, please start reading at the underlined sentence that is just over halfway through that chapter. 
> 
> I will provide a summary of these sections on my tumblr that is free of the aforementioned elements for anyone who does not want to miss any of the main plot points.

_Kara clenched her teeth and set down the box of old ship parts she was holding. Her sister came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. “You okay?”_

_Kara nodded toward her sister. “I’ll be fine. I just can’t shake this headache.”_

_“I bet getting some actual food in you will help. Mom and I talked before we left, and it sounds like she’s planning a feast for when we get back.”_

_Kara grinned. “Are we going to make potstickers? Oh god Alex, it’s been years since I had a pot sticker.”_

_“If Dickwell Lord actually holds up his side of the bargain this time, we can all have some potstickers.” Alex shifted her own box so that she could pick up Kara’s as well._

_“I’ve got it.” Kara tried to argue, but Alex rolled her eyes._

_“I can carry two half-empty boxes of parts Kara.” Alex smirked. “Besides, now my hands are full so I couldn’t possibly negotiate with Lord right now.”_

_A pout sprang to Kara’s face, headache momentarily forgotten. “Ah come on Alex, it’s your turn!”_

_Alex shrugged and took off to where the rest of their group was beginning to gather with the remainder of their goods. The older girl had her back turned, but Kara stuck her tongue out at her anyway._

_Kara was seconds away from stomping over to the group and pulling Alex back to take care of her duties when she felt someone bump into her shoulder. She turned in time to see Leslie Willis brush by her._

_“Don’t fuck this up Danvers. I’m sick of that loser taking advantage of us.”_

_“Thanks for the confidence Leslie. I’ve got it handled.”_

_“You better.” Leslie snapped over her shoulder._

_“What a lovely girl.” The hairs on the back of Kara’s neck stood up at the sound of a familiar smarmy voice._

_Kara forced a bright smile onto her face. “Maxwell.”_

_His appearance perfectly emulated his slimy personality. His hair was slicked back with so much product that Kara was sure that she could run into it with her speeder at full throttle and it wouldn’t budge._

_“Kara.” He said as he placed a palm on the small of her back and started leading them to the loot pile. “It’s been some time.”_

_Kara’s entire body tensed, and she quickly stepped out of his reach. “Well, I’m sure it’s tough to make time in your busy schedule to get over to this side of the galaxy.”_

_“When you say it that way, you make me sound like a bad business partner. I’ve always gone out of my way to help you all.” He wasn’t only talking to Kara this time, but the small group that she’d brought with her on this mission as well._

_Barry, James, and Alex stood stoically, staring directly at him while Winn and a handful of other members seemed to be taking a great interest in the floor beneath them. Leslie scoffed and threw a box down at Maxwell’s feet._

_“Alright then, where the hell have you been?” Leslie snarled. “We haven’t heard from you in months and none of us have had a full meal in longer than that.”_

_Maxwell did not look at Leslie and instead began inspecting the fingernails of his right hand. “I don’t see how any of that is my fault. If anything, it sounds like you have a rationing problem.”_

_“Leslie…” Kara warned._

_If Leslie heard Kara, she certainly didn’t act like it. She stepped closer into Maxwell’s space and pushed a finger into his chest._

_“You can deflect all you want, but you’re still just a rich asshole who takes advantage of us every chance he gets.”_

_“Why don’t I do you a favor then?” Maxwell looked down at Leslie with a dangerous smile as his eyes briefly flashed yellow. “How about I make it so your people have one less mouth to worry about feeding?”_

_With a flick of Maxwell’s wrist, Leslie went flying across the room and into the far wall. Her body crumpled to the ground and Maxwell turned toward the rest of the group with a smile. He was met with twenty blasters pointed in his direction._

_“Oh please, tell me that she didn’t deserve that.”_

_A tense silence followed._

_Maxwell let out a humorless laugh. “Now, we can all play nice and do what we came here to do, or the only things that your families will get out of this deal will be your remains. What’s it going to be?”_

_A bright red bolt shot across the room and struck Maxwell in the shoulder. He whipped around to see Leslie lying prone with her blaster trained on him._

_He ground his teeth together and pulled his saber from his belt. “Looks like your decision has been made for you. Guards!”_

_The room was suddenly tinted red as blaster bolts filled the air and the saber in Maxwell’s hands lit up._

_Alex began targeting the guards who had previously been standing unseen around the room, while Barry and James ushered Winn and the others out of the line of fire. Maxwell dashed off toward Leslie at a speed that was just a little too quick to be human. Kara attempted to follow him, but between his apparent enhanced speed and having to avoid stray blaster fire she struggled to keep up._

_As she got closer, she watched Maxwell raise his saber over his head and brought it down toward Leslie, who had yet to get back to her feet. Kara raised her blaster and attempted to fire, but just as she did, it was struck by another bolt and was sent skittering across the floor. Desperately Kara dove at Maxwell and just managed to grab him by his knees and pull him to the ground._

_Maxwell fell on his side with a hiss, just managing to roll away from the crackling blade of his own saber._

_Kara pushed herself back to her feet and stood in between Leslie and Maxwell. “Get out of here!” She shouted over her shoulder._

_Her back was still turned to Maxwell when she felt something white hot strike her wrist. She didn’t even have time to see what happened before panic filled her body as an invisible hand secured itself around her neck and cut off her air supply. Kara glanced down at Maxwell, only to see him back on his feet with one hand reaching in front of him in a choke hold and the other twirling his saber._

_While his eyes had only flashed yellow for a second before, they were burning amber now. Fury twisted his features and it felt as though he was glaring into her very soul._

_Kara fell to her knees and attempted to bring her hands to her throat but found that only one responded. The left one was no longer there. “Please.” She croaked_

_Maxwell smirked and walked over to Kara. “You see? Those are the kinds of manners I was expecting from the group of people that I feed and protect, but no. No, instead they insulted me and my business.”_

_Kara’s vision began to grow black at the edges and her lungs screamed for air. She frantically surveyed the area, looking for something, anything to help break her out of this. For a second, she thought she saw someone move behind Maxwell, but when she blinked, they were gone._

_“I wonder how your mother is going to feel when she gets word of what happened here?” Maxwell continued his monologue. “She never did like me. Maybe I should deliver you and your sister to her doorstep myself? I can’t imagine she gets many visitors.”_

_A small droid came barreling toward Maxwell and ran into his leg. It wasn’t much of an impact, but it was just enough to distract him for a second as a pipe flew up and struck him across the jaw. He lost his grip on Kara and she fell forward, having to suck in a few gasping breaths before her lungs started to work again._

_Barry stepped out from behind Maxwell and drew his blaster._

_“Looks like even your droids can’t stand you. What’s that like man? I can’t imagine it’s much fun.”_

_That was the last sentence Kara could make out before a hand landed on her shoulder and Alex pulled her out of earshot. “Alex, no. We have to go back! Barry…”_

_“I know, he wanted me to get you out of here. I’m going back for him.”_

_A cry of pain rang out over the sounds of battle. Kara broke out of Alex’s grip and sprinted back toward Barry. Maxwell was kneeling down next to Barry’s unmoving body breathing heavily with a handheld tightly to his side._

_Maxwell slowly turned to face them and started to smile. His triumph was short lived though, because seconds later, a blue saber blade appeared through the center of his chest. Surprise briefly flashed over Maxwell’s face before he fell face forward into the ground._

_Barry collapsed back to the ground behind him._

_“Barry!”_

_Kara and Alex ran over to Barry and knelt down beside him just as Maxwell had done just a moment ago._

_“You’re going to be okay, just hang on. We’ll hail Eliza as soon as we get back to the ship and… and…”_

_Barry lifted a hand up and put it on Kara’s knee. “I don’t think we’re going to be that lucky today Kara.”_

_Tears began to stream down Kara’s face. “Please don’t Barry, you’re going to be okay.”_

_“Always the optimist. Here, Kara, take this. I don’t want anyone else to find it and accidently lose an eye.” He pushed his saber over to her._

_“I can’t take that Barry; it wasn’t meant for me.”_

_Barry smiled weakly. “All it ever really did for me was hang uselessly on my belt. I’m sure you’ll find a good use for it.”_

_“I’ll try my best.”_

_“Good.” Barry’s eyes slid closed._

_The sisters watched as his breathes grew increasingly shallow before stopping all together. Kara turned to Alex and felt her sister’s arms wrap around her. They sat that way for a moment before the other members of their team wandered over to see what had happened._

_With the help of Alex, James and a few of the others, they managed to pick up Barry and carefully bring him back to the ship. Kara walked a few paces behind them, cradling her left arm and trying to process what just happened._

_She had nearly made it onto the ship when she felt something gently bump into the side of her leg. Kara glanced down to see the droid who had distracted Maxwell looking up at her. The droid was rusted and dented in a few places, but still seemed to be functioning at full capacity._

_“Hey there little buddy.”_

_The droid beeped a few times in question._

_“Of course, you can come home with us, you saved me back there, I owe you one.”_

_The droid beeped excitedly._

_Kara nodded toward the ship._

_“After you.”_

***

“Kara. Kara. Hey, it’s okay. You’re safe. Can you hear me?”

The tail end of the dream faded, and Kara’s eyes snapped open to see a familiar cockpit and an only slightly familiar face kneeled down in front of her. Her heart was racing, and she could feel herself hyperventilating.

“There we are. Alright Kara, what do you need? Does touch make it better or worse?”

“Better.” Kara breathed.

Lena nodded and slid her hand slowly into Kara’s. She gave Kara’s hand the gentlest of squeezes and began rubbing the back of Kara’s hand with her thumb.

It took a few minutes, but eventually Kara felt herself slowly start to calm down. Lena sat there the whole time: murmuring reassurances and doing her best to keep Kara grounded. 

As Kara returned to herself, she began to take notice of how weak she felt. She looked down at the hand that was still held in Lena’s and found that it was paler than it had been even before Lena had saved her.

“I had to stabilize you again, but we’re nearing Tatooine now.” She looked up at Lena and the other woman gave her a reassuring smile while giving her hand another squeeze.

Everything had been so hectic when they had first met that this was the first time that Kara actually got to sit down and get a good look at Lena. She looked exhausted. Her eyes were bloodshot and carried dark circles beneath them while her shoulders were slumped under the weight of the day. Even still, her striking green eyes were locked on Kara.

“How are you feeling now?”

“A lot better.” Kara felt heat start to creep up her neck and into her checks. “I know I’ve already said it today but thank you. I wouldn’t have made it out of there alive without you. My mom would have killed me if that happened. Well, not killed, you can’t really do that if someone is already dead but...” Kara cleared her throat to stop her ramble. “Thanks.”

Lena gave her a soft smile and Kara could have sworn she saw a red tint to her ears. “You’re welcome.”

Lena kept her gaze on Kara’s for a moment too long, and just as Kara was preparing herself to try and speak again, Krypto started beeping loudly next to them. The attention of both girls snapped to the droid and they pulled their own respective hands back to themselves.

Kara nodded along with the droid as they described the situation. “It’s okay Krypto. We can still get there; it’s just not going to be pretty.”

Lena glanced back at Kara, her eyes pulled together in curiosity. “My droid is a bit rusty, I’m afraid I only caught half of that.”

Kara sat up straighter in her chair and hissed as pain shot up her leg. “Krypto said that we are starting to lose the…”

The ship shook violently and the control panel in front of them began to flash rapidly.

“Engines. Got it.” Lena said.

Kara made another move to get up, but Lena beat her to it, sliding easily back into the captain’s chair. “If it’s all the same to you, I think I can handle this.”

“Alright, but you’re going to have to let me show off my very impressive pilot skills some other time.”

Lena rolled her eyes with a smirk and turned back to the controls. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Kara watched as Lena’s hands expertly flew over the buttons. Lena kept her cool even as the ship fell rapidly out of hyperdrive and began barreling unsteadily toward a fast approaching Tatooine.

“Kara darling, does this ship have a radio? It may be wise to warn anyone who might be down there. I don’t know how much control I’m going to have by the time we get there.”

Did this ship have a radio? There was definitely one in her helmet, but she’d discarded that hours ago.

“I-I don’t know.”

“It’s too late now. I’ll try and land her as gently as I can, but it’s going to hurt. Hang on.”

As the ship grew closer to the ground, it began shaking violently. Lena’s knuckles were white on the navigational levers as she fought to keep the ship from colliding with sand dunes beneath them.

“Shit.” She said through clenched teeth as a small collection of domed buildings came into view.

Kara let out a nervous laugh. “Oh look, we made it.”

Lena glanced over at Kara for a second. “I’m sorry about your ship Kara.”

“Wait, what are you...?”

Lena forced the levers down and the ship angled downward. It lurched as it struck a dune and then another and one more before coming to a halt.

The cockpit was silent as the ship settled into the sand.

“Lena?” Kara sounded winded.

“Mm m’okay.” Lena said as she cut off her safety belt.

She rolled unceremoniously onto the floor, barely managing to catch herself on her hands and knees as she tried to regain the breath that her belt had knocked out of her.

Kara looked down at her with concern, ignoring the pain her own restraint had caused her. “Are you sure?”

Lena picked herself up and wiped the dust from her knees.

“I’m great, you on the other hand…”

Kara put her right hand over her chest and feigned offence. “Are you this nice to all the girls who release you from carbonite?”

“Only the lucky ones.” Lena said as she cut Kara free.

“Well then I’m honored, truly.”

“You know, you have awfully good manners for a scavenger.”

Lena offered Kara a hand and pulled her to her feet before wrapping a hand around her waist and guiding her back into the cargo bay.

“Well, for a scavenger you really um….”

“That’s okay, take your time.”

Kara bumped her shoulder into Lena’s. “Hey! I lost a lot of blood today, thinking is about as easy as trying to see through a dust storm right now.”

“I’ll make sure to keep the witty banter to a minimum until you’re better then.” Lena said playfully.

“You’re too kind.”

Lena pressed the button that released the ramp and she adjusted her grip on Kara to one that was more secure for the trek through the sand.

The ramp was only about half of the way down before a pair of hands appeared on the edge of the platform.

“Oh for fuck’s sake.” Lena drew her knife in the hand that wasn’t around Kara. At the same time, she felt Kara draw her blaster weakly beside her.

A head popped over the edge of the door and Kara dropped her weapon. “Alex!”

“Kara!”

Alex pulled herself up and onto the door before sliding down the incline towards them. She was on her feet in an instant.

She gave Kara a once over and frowned before turning on Lena. “Who the fuck are you, and what the hell did you do to her?”

Lena dropped her knife and held up her hand in surrender.

“She’s not a threat Alex. Her name is Lena and she’s the only reason that I’m still breathing right now.”

Alex didn’t take her eyes off of Lena.

“It is a long story and I’ll tell you every word of what happened, but not until we get Kara to a healer.”

Kara nodded, sweat glistening on her brow. “Seeing mom would be really nice right about now.”

Alex stepped up so that she was toe to toe with Lena. “I’ve got it from here.”

Lena held her ground and stared Alex down for a moment before eventually relenting and carefully withdrawing from Kara. Alex quickly took her place and began guiding Kara out of the ship.

Lena started to follow, but then stopped herself. What the hell was she even doing here? Sure, Kara had essentially given Lena her life back and she felt like she owed it to the girl to get her home. That was absolutely the only reason that she found herself standing on a nearly abandoned planet right now. Right? It wasn’t connected to the curious hum that had started in the back of her mind the moment Kara woke her up, or the fact that it felt a little bit like destiny that Kara had stumbled upon her in a place that she was never supposed to be found.

Either way, it definitely had nothing to do with how much she had grown to like Kara’s smile.

Lena pushed aside her thoughts. Tatooine is clear on the other side of the galaxy to where she needed to be. She’d check on Kara to make sure she was alright and then she’d take the first ship out of this place. It’s better for everyone that way. The last thing any of them needed was for the Luthors to track her here and turn this planet into an asteroid field.

“Lena?” Kara’s voice came from a distance.

“I’m disconnecting your droid; I’ll be right there!” She yelled back.

“It’s just a few days.” She said quietly to herself. “Everything else can wait for just a few days.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! As always, if you liked it, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated. If you'd like to stick around and see what happens next, hitting subscribe is the best way to go. 
> 
> P.S. I know that this chapter was a little bit intense. Unfortunately it would be a lie to say that Kara and Lena didn't go through a lot to get to where they are now. The next chapter will have some dark elements as well, but should be much lighter overall. 
> 
> ALSO: As I said before, if for any reason you didn't read the first half of the chapter, I will post a summary that is free of the aforementioned elements so that you do not have to miss out on any of the plot points. @RoseWilliams15
> 
> Until Next Time!


	4. Chapter 4

Lena jogged up to Alex and Kara and caught the end of discussion that she had a feeling she wasn’t meant to hear.

“... and if you thought Eliza was upset, you should have seen Ruby when she figured out that you weren’t here to watch her this afternoon.” Alex snapped.

Kara stopped and almost sent both of them to the ground with the abrupt shift in weight.

“You can guilt trip me all you want Alex, I had to go. I’m sorry that I missed hanging out with Ruby, but at least now you don’t have to worry about her starving.”

Lena caught up to them then, having slowed her pace to avoid getting in the middle of their sibling squabble.

Kara looked up at her and her cheeks flushed red. Lena looked away, she hadn’t really minded making Kara blush before, but seeing it stem from pure embarrassment made her uneasy.

Alex nodded to the small cluster of buildings ahead of them. “We’re almost there.”

Kara didn’t respond and instead started taking slow steps in that direction.

They only made it another fifty or so feet before a small crowd came into view. From what Lena could tell, it was a collection of five or so families. Standing at the front of the crowd was an older blonde woman who approached them as soon as she caught sight of the group. She fussed over Kara for a moment and pulled her into a gentle hug before stepping back and giving her a quick visual assessment. The woman let out a heavy sigh before moving over to the side Alex wasn’t occupying and started helping Alex steer Kara toward the nearest building.

A small girl darted out of the crowd and wrapped her arms tightly around Kara’s waist. “Auntie Kara! I missed you so much!”

Kara sucked in a sharp breath at the contact but smiled down at the girl. “I missed you too Rubes.”

“Hey Ruby, Auntie Kara had a really bad day, do you think you could draw her a picture to make her feel better?” Alex said as she carefully pried the girl off of Kara.

“Yeah! I already made her one so now she will have two!” Ruby said proudly as she took off back into the crowd.

Alex, Kara, and the older woman, who Lena now presumed was Eliza, disappeared into the small building. Lena moved to follow but caught Alex’s scowl through the door frame and stopped in her tracks. She really didn’t have any business being in that room, but it stung a little, nonetheless. She had saved Kara’s life after all.

The door was shut in front of Lena and for the first time she realized that she had been left alone with a crowd of strangers. What she wouldn’t give for a shot of strong liquor and a week-long nap right about now.

“Lena?” A voice said behind her.

Lena flinched. The only two people on this planet who knew her name were in the building in front of her. If this person knew her first name, they mostly certainly knew her last name too. Lena whipped around, hand gravitating toward the knife that she now remembered was lying on the floor of Kara’s ship.

Before she had the chance to reach for another weapon, a pair of arms pulled her into a hug. Lena took a quick step back and broke the embrace

“Who the fu-...” The face she saw looking back at her made words die on her tongue.

“Sam,” She stared up at the taller woman in awe for a moment. “How-how did you…? I thought… They killed you.”

“Well they didn’t do a very good job of it now did they?” Sam said with a smile.

Lena started to smile too before she caught sight of the scar that stretched across Sam’s cheek.

Sam noticed the change in Lena’s expression and nodded toward a building that was a few yards away.

“Why don’t you come with me? Let’s have some dinner and catch up.”

Lena nodded weakly and allowed herself to be led into what she assumed was Sam’s house.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_Lena had her head on a table and was failing miserably at ignoring the throbbing headache that was assaulting her temples when she heard the doors slide open behind her._

_“How would your mother feel if she knew that you were hiding away instead of doing what she sent you here for?”_

_Lena rolled her eyes and regretted it instantly when the pain in her head got worse._

_“We’re allowed rest when we’re sick, Veronica.” She ground out, closing her eyes in hopes that it would make Veronica leave her alone._

_“Sick, really? Is that also your excuse for why you have been so tragically far behind the rest of us since you got here?”_

_“I cannot help but notice that you are not present in your classes right now either. Shouldn’t you be getting in trouble for being absent as well?” Lena asked, head still on the table._

_“It’s cute that you think that anything I do around here can get me in trouble. The Masters’ reward talent like mine and scoff at embarrassments like you.” Veronica sneered._

_Lena’s jaw clenched and felt her cheeks burn red. She was better than this, and Veronica Sinclair was not worth her time. Losing her cool now would only make her life at this academy more miserable than it already was._

_Veronica closed the distance between herself and Lena._

_“What is it like being the weakest member of the strongest family in the galaxy?”_

_Lena’s eyes flew open and she jumped to her feet. “Mind your own goddamn business Sinclair.”_

_The other girl quirked an eyebrow. “What are you going to do Lena? Glare at me? I’ve seen you train. You are shit with a saber and somehow, even worse with the force. I’m not scared of you.”_

_Neither of them heard the door slide open again, nor did they notice the footsteps of a newcomer._

_“Please just leave, I am not doing this with you right now.” Energy was pulsing through Lena now and where she knew most would feel strength, she felt like her skin was on fire and as though she was going to pass out at any second._

_“Why don’t you call Lex in here? He’s the only Luthor here worth fighting anyway.”_

_“Stop it!” Lena shouted as she lifted the table in front of her and flung it at Veronica._

_There was a loud crash as the glass tabletop collided with the girl. She was thrown a few feet back toward the door. Lena watched in horror as a shard from the table went flying and struck the face of the other person in the room._

_The anger that had just been flowing throughout her system disappeared and was instantly replaced with nausea._

_“Sam?” Lena’s voice cracked on the word._

_Sam looked over at her as blood began to streak down her face. Her ever present smile was nowhere to be seen, instead, her lips were pursed tightly and her normally warm gaze had gone cold._

_“Sam, I-I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to-...”_

_“I thought we were better than her Lena, better than all of them. We were supposed to be able to fight this power and use it for better things.”_

_“I am better than this.”_

_Sam kept on as though Lena hadn’t spoken a word._

_“Go.”_

_Lena opened her mouth to speak again, but Sam cut her off._

_“Don’t start. I know you’ve been planning an escape for weeks. I’ll heal her and handle the fallout.”_

_Lena stood frozen._

_“Nothing you can say will fix this, and if you don’t leave now, you’ll get us both killed.”_

_Lena took a few steps toward the door before stopping and turning back to Sam. “I’m sorry…”_

_Sam cut her off with a shake of her head. “Just go Lena.” She turned back to tending to Veronica’s wounds._

_Lena left without another word, at least not that she said out loud that is. In her mind, she swore that she’d never let the dark force inside her take control of her like that again. If that meant never tapping into that power again, so be it._

O0o0o0o0o0o

Sam brought Lena into a small kitchen and indicated for her to sit down at the table that took up the majority of the room. Lena did as she was told and watched as Sam began pulling items out of a largely barren cupboard.

Neither woman spoke as Sam assembled a meager looking stew. Lena sat still, but her hands itched for something to do. On the long list of awkward situations that she had found herself in in her lifetime, this was definitely toward the top.

After a few minutes, Sam finished up her work and came to sit down across the table from Lena.

Lena bit her cheek before finally breaking the silence. “That was an awfully warm welcome for someone who scarred you and almost got you killed.” She said quietly, with her eyes on the table in front of her.

Lena felt Sam’s eyes on her but couldn’t bring herself to look up to meet them.

“I didn’t stay mad at you Lena. We both know that you didn’t mean to hurt me, or Veronica for that matter. And besides, you didn’t put my life in danger, your parents did that.”

Lena wasn’t ready to accept Sam’s forgiveness, so she leapt at the opportunity of a subject change.

“How did you escape them?” She asked, finally deciding it was safe to look up.

Sam’s jaw clenched before slowly relaxing into a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I didn’t.”

Lena watched Sam carefully, but knew better than to interrupt.

Sam glanced into the room behind them and Lena followed her gaze to see a small girl, the same one that had hugged Kara’s leg earlier, sitting there intently focused on the drawing in front of her.

“I was visiting my parents right after Ruby was born when they were attacked. It was meant to be a big celebration; lots of big families gathered so that my parents could gloat about their first grandchild.” Sam shook her head. “You know what they were like.”

Lena nodded politely in response.

“We got there a few days before all of the festivities were set to start. My mom wanted my input on the flower arrangements or some other silly detail that I couldn’t have cared less about, and I didn’t really mind because I knew that she would watch Ruby so that I could actually get some sleep.” Sam took a steadying breath to help reign herself in. “We were out for a walk when they got there, just mom, Ruby and me. She pushed us into some of the greenery and told us that she would take care of everything.” Sam paused for a moment to clear the emotion out of her throat. “That was the last I ever saw of her.”

Lena slowly reached a hand across the table and placed it on top of Sam’s. It wasn’t much, but after not having seen the girl for ten years, she wasn’t sure what else she had to offer.

“That’s how I met Alex.” Sam said after a moment, her tone was lighter this time. “All of my parent’s ships were destroyed in the attack and Rubes and I would have been stranded there if she and Kara hadn’t shown up to sell their wares the day after the attack.

“They took us in even though their food supply was already scarce, and Alex built us this house from the sand up.” Sam’s face pulled back up into the bright smile.

“I am not sure that we know the same Alex, she was not terribly fond of Kara bringing home a stranger.” Lena said, only half joking.

“Oh that’s definitely my Alex. She’s just protective of her family, Kara especially. That girl has a real talent for getting herself into trouble.”

The corner of Lena’s lips pulled up into a smile. “Now that I believe. She’s got some real guts on her.”

Sam laughed. “You have no idea.”

They fell into silence again after that, but it was more comfortable this time. It was a few minutes before Sam broke the silence.

“And what about you? The last I heard, the Luthors had you. I was sure you were dead”

“Turns out that my partner and I were not as good at covering our tracks as we thought, Lex tracked us down before we could do any real damage to the them. I don’t know much more than that because they threw me into carbonite almost the second that we landed on the base.” Lena swallowed thickly.

“They could have tortured or killed Jack and I never would have known because I was stuck in that fucking slab.”

“Is that where you were when Kara found you?”

Lena nodded. “Poor girl was hanging on to consciousness by a thread when I woke up.”

“We’ll cycle back to Kara in a minute, I’m worried about you right now.” Sam leaned forward in her chair. “I was wondering why you looked so dead on your feet. Are you alright? I’ve heard about how awful hibernation sickness can be.”

Lena’s shoulder slumped. She’d underestimated just how well Sam still knew her.

“After I got over the initial bout of blindness, the other after effects weren’t nearly as bad..”

Sam’s gaze burned into her. “And the exhaustion?”

“It’s another common symptom.” Lena brushed off Sam’s question.

“It’s been awhile Lena, but I still know what a Luthor blaster wound looks like. I also know that Kara would be deader than the Death Star right now if she hadn’t gotten some kind help before you guys got here.” 

Lena’s pulse spiked, but not with anger as it often did. This time, she felt plain old fear grip her chest.

“I had to do something. The girl fell unconscious right in front of me and then almost bled out again on her own ship.”

“I know what had to be done, and believe me when I say that I am glad you did it, but that’s not what I’m talking about.” Sam eyed Lena carefully. “I am going to ask you again, are you alright?”

Lena’s hands began to shake on the table, so she moved them onto her lap to keep them out of sight.

“I promised myself that I would never use the force again after you got hurt, and I have been good on that promise for the past ten years. But then there was Kara… She had just saved me, I had to return the favor.”

Sam’s voice was impossibly soft and quiet when she spoke next. “You saved her life. That is exactly the kind of thing that you and I set out to do with that awful power.”

Lena felt tears beginning to pool in her eyes. “It still burns Sam. It’s just like the lava that they used to make us train above.”

“It’s the price to pay for such a powerful talent.” Sam recited with a roll of her eyes.

“It is funny how you and I were the only ones who had to hear that speech over and over again. I have always wondered how the rest of them handled the pain, perhaps the allure of power was enough to numb it for them.”

“Maybe they were just into that kind of thing.”

Lena’s fear began to slowly seep out of her. “That would explain quite a bit actually.”

Sam laughed. “Now that my childhood has been completely ruined, I think it’s time for some dinner.”

Lena glanced over at the pot. “Are you sure? Kara mentioned that you all were starting to run out of food.”

Sam shrugged, standing up out of her chair. “I can’t offer you much other than broth and a few chunks of meat, but I made enough so that you can have a bowl. Luthors deserve to eat too.”

Lena flinched at the use of her last name. “Sam…”

“I’m sorry, I realized it as soon as I said it.”

Lena stood and walked over to Sam. “Please don’t tell them who I am,” Her voice was a whisper. “I am leaving here the moment I find a ship that will take me. The less they know, the better.”

“Don’t worry, I don’t plan on telling them anything. After what happened to me, Alex developed a… well, a bit of a hatred for your family.”

Lena let out a humorless laugh. “Of course she did.”

Sam gave her a sympathetic smile. “If it makes you feel any better, Alex hates most people.”

Lena couldn’t help but give Sam a small smile. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

***

Lena was running out of energy by the time that dinner started to wind down , so she was relieved when Ruby took it upon herself to regale the older women with a tale about the space mission that her doll had just returned from. 

“She’s just like Auntie Kara!” Ruby said proudly.

“Well then, your doll must be an incredible adventurer.” Lena replied.

Ruby started wiggling in her chair with excitement. “Have you been on a mission with her?”

“I have.” Lena said with a smile.

“Woah! That’s so cool! What did you do?”

“I am sure Kara will tell you all about her mission when she’s feeling a little bit better, Rubes.”

All heads turned to the doorway where Alex was now standing, drying her hands on a towel. She looked leaps and bounds more at ease than she had when Lena had first met her. Her eyes were softer, and it appeared that the tension that she had been holding in her shoulders earlier was gone now.

Sam stood and made her way over to Alex. “How is she?” She asked before giving Alex a peck on the cheek.

Alex smiled. “She’s hurting right now, but she’ll be fine.”

Lena let out a sigh of relief. Now that she knew Kara was going to be alright, she could start making plans to get out of here.

“Lena?” Sam asked. The look on her face suggested that this wasn’t the first time that Sam had called her name.

“Yes?”

“Alex just said that Kara sent her to find you.”

“Oh, right, of course.” She said.

She turned her attention to Alex. “Is it alright if she has visitors right now?”

Alex shrugged. “In my medical opinion, I’d prefer if she slept; but in my sisterly opinion, she can have whatever the hell she wants after what she went through today.”

“Language.” Sam said, nodding toward Ruby.

Alex sighed. “You still owe me one heck of an explanation, but that can wait for tomorrow. I’ve learned that it’s best not to keep her waiting.”

Lena nodded. “Thank you.”

On her way out of the door, Alex caught Lena’s arm. “Thank you for bringing her home.”

“Thank you for not shooting me.”

“Careful now, that part may come later.” Alex said with a smirk.

Lena grinned. ”I suppose we will just have to wait and see then.” 

***

Lena ducked into the building that she had seen Alex take Kara into earlier. It was warmly lit by several candles and was furnished with a few old and worn tables and chairs. There were still a few pieces of medical equipment lying around, but not enough to indicate that a surgery had occurred here less than an hour ago.

As she looked around, Lena was surprised to see that the room was empty. In all honesty, she had hoped that it would be, but had prepared herself for the possibility of an awkward conversation with Kara’s mother anyway.

The sound of a familiar voice drew her attention to a nearby door.

“There you go buddy; you’re looking better already.”

Lena recognized the tone in Kara’s voice, she had to have been talking to Krypto. With a small smile, she knocked on Kara’s door.

“Come in!”

Lena pushed the door open and found herself walking into the most cluttered room she’d ever seen. There were speeder and droid parts covering nearly every available surface and manuals from at least ten different droid models were stacked haphazardly on the small desk. Aside from the mess, there were two bunks situated on opposite sides of the room; one of which was currently occupied by Kara, who had her injured leg elevated by a few pillows. She appeared to be tinkering with Krypto given the bolts in her lap and the screwdriver that she was balancing between her teeth. Lena shook her head fondly and continued her sweep of the room. Her eyes landed on the hilt of what was unmistakably a lightsaber, and her breath caught in her throat. She took an unconscious step backwards. 

A flurry of thoughts burst into her head. Did this mean Kara was touched by the same darkness that she’d spent her life running from? She certainly hadn’t exhibited any signs, but where else would she have gotten a lightsaber? She had stolen from the Luthors, so that means that she wasn’t allied with their forces, right? Who is this girl?

Kara’s eyes had been on Lena from the moment she walked in the room and her sudden change in posture did not go unnoticed.

“Is everything okay?” Kara asked after pulling the screwdriver out of her mouth.

“Of course.” Lena turned to face her with a tight smile. “I am surprised to see that you are still up. Alex mentioned that you should probably be sleeping.”

“I could be sleeping, but then my buddy here would have had to have a squeaky wheel for the rest of the night and that’s no fun for anyone.” Kara patted the droid on the head before looking back up at Lena. “Now, back to why you look like you saw a ghost when you saw Barry’s lightsaber.”

Lena’s mouth snapped shut. “Are you always this observant?”

“Not really, I just know that look. It’s the same one I get every time I remember that that saber is sitting there.” Kara brought a hand up and rubbed the back of her neck. “You can come in you know; I don’t bite.”

Krypto piped up from beside Kara with a few beeps that Lena couldn’t decipher. “And Krypto wants you to know that they don’t bite either.” Kara said with a laugh.

Lena must have still looked unsure because Kara carefully slid over on her bed and patted the freshly empty space.

After another moment of hesitation, Lena sat down gently. She thought to ask Kara why she offered up part of her already occupied bed when there was another empty one situated just a few feet away but found that she wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the answer.

“So,” She cleared her throat. “Who is Barry?”

Kara’s eyes flickered with what Lena recognized to be pain for a second before her smile returned.

“He is, well, was, my best friend.” Kara picked up a bolt and began fiddling with it. “We lost him on a mission just over a year ago.”

Lena’s eyes fell to the floor. “Oh.”

“He left that lightsaber to me for safekeeping, but I can’t even look at it without remembering that he’s gone.” Kara continued on, too lost in memories to acknowledge Lena. “It’s the dumbest thing too, it wasn’t even his, not really. We found it when we were out scavenging.”

Well, that certainly answered a few questions. Lena was mostly relieved by the knowledge that Kara wasn’t like her, but the tiniest part of her wished she was, if for no other reason than to have someone around who understood the most secret part of her.

Lena put a hand on Kara’s shoulder. “I’m sorry Kara. You have already been through enough today; I did not mean to bring up the past.”

“Don’t be, I left myself wide open for that one.” She brought her own hand up to touch Lena’s but stopped just shy of it.

Lena saw the hesitation and gave Kara a nod of encouragement. Kara blushed and finished her motion before giving Lena’s hand a gentle squeeze.

“I can go ten minutes without making everything awkward, I promise. You just caught me on an off day.”

Lena felt herself relax into Kara’s humor. “You do not have to stop on my account, I am a big fan of the constant blush.”

Kara’s face turned an even more vibrant shade of red and she pushed Lena away playfully. “Okay, now you’re just being mean.”

“Darling, if you thought that was mean, you should see me when I’m angry.” Lena said before she had time to process what she’d said.

The words were said in jest but reminded her of why she had reacted so viscerally to seeing the lightsaber. It was also why she had no business getting comfortable in a place like this or with a person like Kara. Her smile started to fade from her face, and she noticed that Kara’s did the same.

Kara had just opened her mouth to undoubtedly ask Lena what was wrong when Eliza poked her head in the door.

“How are you feeling…?” Her question trailed off when she caught sight of Lena. “Oh! You must be Lena.” She said as she walked into the room.

Lena stood and offered her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Eliza.”

“And you as well.” Eliza smiled and shook Lena’s outstretched hand. “I know it’s starting to get late and there aren’t too many extra beds around here, but you’re more than welcome to stay here with us and sleep in Alex’s old bed if you’d like. I think Kara has been able to keep most of her mess out of it lately.” She said as she threw a teasing look Kara’s way.

Kara started to sputter out a response, but Lena saved her the effort.

“That would be wonderful, thank you.”

Eliza nodded and turned back to Kara. “How’s the pain?”

Kara tried to shift back to how she had been sitting before Lena came in but stopped as soon as she started moving her leg.

“It’s not too bad.” She said through clenched teeth. “We need to ration the meds we have; I’ll be fine.”

“Nice try,” Eliza said before pulling a small bottle out of her pocket.

“That stuff tastes so bad.” Kara pouted.

Eliza handed the bottle over to Kara with a knowing smile. “I know sweetie, but you need to sleep, and this is the best way to do it.”

Kara quickly swallowed the contents before scrunching her face up in disgust.

Lena and Eliza shared a smile at Kara’s antics and Eliza leaned over to whisper in Lena’s ear. “I should warn you, Kara reacts very well to pain medication.”

Lena leaned her head to the side in question, and Eliza laughed. “She usually calls it being floaty, but us in the medical field usually just call it being high.”

Lena raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Oh! Well, that is good to know.”

“I can hear you guys.” Kara piped up from beside them.

Eliza bent over and placed a kiss on the top of Kara’s head. “It’s only fair that she knew sweetie.”

She turned back to Lena. “If she gets to be too much or you need anything at all, feel free to ask.”

“I will, Eliza, thank you.”

“I’ll leave you girls to it then, goodnight.” She said before leaving the room.

Both girls echoed her goodnight and then turned back to each other.

“About before..”

“I’m sorry…”

The girls spoke simultaneously.

Lena gestured for Kara to continue with a smile.

“You’ve spent all day checking up on me and making sure I was okay, even though I found you in a literal prison, and..” Kara trailed off, her eyebrows wrinkling with the effort of collecting her thoughts. “I can’t claim to know you, or what you went through to end up on that Luthor base, but it couldn’t have been easy.”

Kara squirmed around in her bed, her movements growing slower and more fluid before the pain in her leg forced her to sit still. Lena noted that the pain medicine must have started to take effect.

“If you wanted to talk about it some time, you’re more than welcome to.” Kara blinked slowly and smiled loosely up at Lena. “You’re stuck with me for a while, ‘s the leassst I can do ta repay you for saving me.”

Lena was almost too distracted by how endearing Kara’s slurred rambling was to catch the last thing she said. Almost. She drew her eyebrows together in confusion.

“Stuck with you?” She asked.

“Yeah!” Kara nodded rapidly, with excitement that Lena couldn’t quite understand. “We crashhhed the only shhip on the planet! You’rre stuck here until Winn fixes it. Have you meet Winn? He’ss the best.”

Lena forced her lips into a tight smile. “I have not had the pleasure of meeting Winn yet.” She said through clenched teeth, hoping Kara wouldn’t notice. “And you’re sure there is no other way off the planet?”

“Yep!” Kara said before letting out a monstrous yawn.

Anxiety pooled coldly in Lena’s stomach. There was always a chance that Kara was just too far gone to know what she was talking about, but the thought of being trapped here was still concerning. With a heavy sigh, she moved to help Kara clear the metal scraps from her lap. Her hands shook as she set the miscellaneous pieces on Kara’s desk.

Kara frowned. “Are you okay?”

Lena grabbed the blanket from the foot of Kara’s bed and pulled it up over the blonde.

“I’m just tired, we had a pretty exciting day.” She said, a more genuine smile spreading across her face at Kara’s concern.

Kara seemed to accept this answer and settled herself deeper into bed. “M’ tired too. Go’night Lena.”

“Goodnight Kara.”

Lena waited for Kara’s eyes to fall shut before she made her way over to her temporary bed and took a seat on the edge of it. She leaned forward and put her head in her hands. What the hell was she going to do now?

“Lena?” Kara’s soft voice startled her a few minutes later.

Lena looked up and saw that Kara was watching her. “Are you alright? Do I need to get Eliza?”

Kara shook her head lazily. “No, I jus’ wanted to say that ‘m glad that my brain buzz helped me find you. You’re too nice to be stuck in rock. An pretty too.”

Lena felt the tips of her ears redden.

“I’m glad you found me too Kara…” She said before full meaning of Kara’s words washed over Lena and she stopped mid-sentence. “Brain buzz?” She asked.

“Mmhm, it keeps me safe and helped me find you.”

Before Lena could form a response, Kara’s head lulled to the side and soft snores began to spill out of her mouth.

The stew that Sam had given her began to swirl dangerously in her stomach and her heart began to pound in her ears. Brain buzz? Kara may have been high out of her mind, but that’s not something that she could have just made up on the spot.

Lena wracked her brain for another explanation. She had only experienced the thrum a few times herself, mostly when she was a young child, and then again when Kara had found her. A shock of something spread through her system, but she couldn’t place exactly what it was. Fear, excitement, relief? She wasn’t sure.

Lena glanced over at Kara’s sleeping form once more. _Who is this girl?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for sticking with this fic so far and for all of the lovely comments. They are always the highlight of my day, and I would be lying if I said they didn't speed up the writing process so keep 'em coming!
> 
> PS: I am going to try really hard to keep up with this posting schedule, but I wanted to warn you all that I am going back to work in a few weeks so updates may start to slow down a little bit. Bear with me though, the best of this story is yet to come!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all, it's been some time since I put out a multichapter story but I'm back! If you liked it, please comment and leave a kudos. If you feel like sticking around, a subscription is always a good way to go. Updates should be pretty regular, and even more so when I'm done with school in a few weeks. 
> 
> Until next time!
> 
> PS: If you want to see little behind the scenes bits of the making of this, come find me on tumblr @RoseWilliams15


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